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Thursday, March 31, 2011

Cooper Renner's novel Dr Jesus and Mr Dead tells an immortal adventure that leads from medieval England to modern New Mexico.

When the Black Death struck Pleasant Wimberley, England, in 1349, it infected every resident. Only two survived, locked in stasis by the plague, unable either to die or to age, doomed by their immortality to be forever on the move. Through the centuries, 30-year-old Richard Dedemon spread suffering and even death as often as he could. But he never suspected that he was not unique, that an extraordinary 12-year-old hounded his steps in secret, diligent to undo the evil his former townsman sowed.
Their journeys intersect, for a final confrontation, in 1980s New Mexico where Dedemon poses as a traveling tent evangelist and faith healer as he plots his greatest devastation: the unleashing of another plague upon the unsuspecting people of the Southwest. Can Jonathan, with six centuries of experience trapped in a 12-year-old's mind, discover his enemy's intentions before it is too late?

Cooper Renner's fiction has appeared in New York Tyrant, Keyhole, The Anemone Sidecar and other publications. He is translator of Mario Bellatin's Chinese Checkers: Three Fictions (2006) and editor at the online magazine elimae. His poetry collection Mosefolket was published in 2007 under the name Cooper Esteban.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

In his mini-novel Life after Sleep, Mark Brand takes a look at the world that might just await us around the corner -- a place where GPS, Facebook and cellphones mesh perfectly to tell us where even in a nightclub to stand, yet traditional enough for couples to still have fights over groceries, and for office politics to still have enormous repercussions.

It is the day after tomorrow, and a device has been invented that immediately induces REM sleep, otherwise known as "Sleep" with a capital S. Society has been transformed. The average person now only needs two hours of rest a night. The work day is officially sixteen hours long. Americans party at clubs until daybreak, then log into virtual worlds and party in a reunified Korea all morning too...

CCLaP / Pay what you want! Like the previous CCLaP-books featured in Daily s-Press ("99 Problems" by Ben Tanzer, "Too Young to Fall Asleep" by Sally Weigel), this book is published on a "pay what you want"-basis: "it means you pay only what you want for an electronic copy, even if you want to pay nothing, making this mini-novel (available in EPUB, PDF and MOBI/Kindle editions) easily worth taking a chance on."

About CCLaP CCLaP Publishing is an imprint of the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography, an organization dedicated to promoting the best of the underground and cutting-edge arts.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

draft: the journal of process is a new educational literary journal which features stories, drafts, and interviews about the writing process. draft's mission is to emphasize the importance and diversity of the creative process, especially for new writers and students in writing classrooms.

"In draft, we’re interested in mechanics, techniques, approaches, triumphs, failures, concussive frustration--everything that goes into crafting a publishable piece of creative writing through revision. We ask authors to reveal their tricks behind the illusions. To tell us how it’s done, or try to."

issue zero - "the draft preview" - is now available, and 2 drafts are online as excerpts: “Saggitarius” by Greg Hrbek and “Once Upon a Time, Bananas” by Mary Miller

about draft
draft is edited by Mark Polanzak and Rachel Yoder. Mark Polanzak has published stories in Third Coast, The Southern Review, and The American Scholar, among others. He teaches writing at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Rachel Yoder has written for The New York Times, The Sun Magazine, Kenyon Review, and other publications. She teaches writing at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

blog
there also is a draft blog that features conversations, observations, and exercises related to drafting. "If you're a writer, teacher, or student, we hope you'll consider sending us your thoughts. We accept submissions for our blog via draftjournal@gmail.com. Please indicate "Submission" in the subject line."
blog link: http://draftjournal.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The Art of Non-Conformity project by Chris Guillebeau chronicles notes on how to change the world by achieving significant, personal goals while helping others at the same time. In the battle against conventional beliefs, Guillebeau focuses on three areas: Life, Work, and Travel.

Guillebeau is especially interested in the convergence between highly personal goals and service to others. He uses the metaphor of world domination (ruling and changing the world at the same time) to highlight all the things that can be achieved by choosing to live with gratitude and purpose.

The essence of Guillebeua's philosophy is:
1. You don’t have to live your life the way other people expect you to.
2. You can do good things for yourself and help other people at the same time.
3. If you don’t decide for yourself what you want to get out of life, someone else will probably end up deciding for you.
4. There is usually more than one way to accomplish something.

Chris Guillebeau spent 4 years in West Africa as a volunteer. He is a writer, entrepreneur, and world traveler with the goal of visiting every country in the world. When not traveling, he lives in Portland, Oregon and publishes the Art of Nonconformity blog.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Battle Runes - Writings on War is an anthology that consists of twenty-one authors – thirty-seven works (short stories and poems) from all over the world – writing about the physical and psychological ravages of war on individuals and families. Parts of the book are shocking and horrifying, but in the end there is hope.

In the preface, publisher Fredericka Jacks writes: “Battle Runes opens in a child’s voice and ends with a child’s concern; the book begins in horror and terror and ends with care and hope; the collection starts in darkness and ends in color. The stories and poems – while focused on war – include private and public spaces, often addressing family relationships, such as those between husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, or parents and children. While there is blood in these pages, the emphasis is on the complex psychological dimensions of war.”

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

a river of stones
The challenge: to notice one thing properly every day during January ’11, and to write it down. The result: more than 350 people across the world paying more attention to what was around them, and writing small stones. The birth of a new community of daily writers. A new movement - a river of stones. Which now also turned into a book.

a river of stones - the book
This book contains a selection of these engaged moments, written both by experienced poets and complete beginners, and a guide to writing your own small stones: "You will receive 320 amazing small stones written by all of you lovely talented people, short prose pieces written by Kaspa & me, longer quotes by several small-stoners and an appendix with lots of information about how to write small stones." - Fiona Robyn

a river of stones - a quote and links
The river of stones started in January with a blog and a welcome-post, here's a quote from it: "Why would you want to join in? - Because choosing something to write about every day will help you to connect with yourselves, with others, and with the world. It will help you to love everything you see - the light and the dark, the happy and the sad, the beautiful and the ugly. You don't have to be a 'writer' to get involved. The process of paying attention is what's important." The month of writing small stones and sharing them online then sparked the open and ongoing community that is open to everyone who is interested in writing, reading and the world: Writing Our Way Back Home.

About the editorsFiona Robyn is a novelist, Buddhist and creativity coach and blogs about being a writer at Writing Our Way Home. Kaspalita is a Buddhist priest and blogger and is engaged to Fiona.

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Elsie’s World is a collection of most of the short stories that Walter Bjorkman wrote over a ten month period after returning to the format in 2009. The stories were not written with a collection in mind, that followed after a few of them had been published online and in print. Stop by at Voices for a first story: Sooz & Sid.

"I've never met Walter Bjorkman in person, but I know his characters as well as I know my own. We've collaborated on several projects in recent times, and his inimitable style keeps me playing along. His is an immigrant's tale – a writer who extends from a long line of proud Norwegians and their quirky family history of departures and arrivals, remembering and forgetting. And it is his immigrant heart that makes his stories sound so authentically American, and real." - Michelle Elvy

Walter Bjorkman is a writer, poet and beginning photographer from Brooklyn, NY now residing in Maryland. His poems have appeared in various issues of Poets & Artists (O&S), and stories and poems in issuses of OCHO and MiPoesias magazines.

About GOSS183::CASA MENENDEZ
Established in 1998, GOSS183::CASA MENENDEZ publishes poetry books and the literary journals OCHO, MiPOesias Magazine, and Oranges & Sardines, which also features visual works by contemporary artists. Poems that have first appeared in GOSS183 publications have been included in the anthologies of the Pushcart Prize, Best American Poetry, and others.

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Great stories are being published online. The storySouth Million Writers Award for best online fiction of the year will help all internet-based journals and magazines gain exposure and attent.

The storySouth award was initiated and is organized by author and editor Jason Sanford. The story of how this award started during the time when online journals often weren't considered to be real publications by some, and is still online, here.

The current introduction to the award also shows how times have changed: "When I founded the online journal storySouth ten years ago, the literary establishment didn't believe online magazines were legitimate places to publish fiction. In fact, many of these heads-in-the-sand fools also believed that the internet was a passing fad. Now these same people are tweeting each other links to their favorite online stories. It's amazing how the literary world can change in a decade."

Rules + Timeline
The award is for any fictional short story of at least a 1,000 words first published in an online publication during 2010. To help promote online stories, the Million Writers Award accepts nominations from readers, writers, and editors (and the volunteer preliminary judges who assist with the award). There is no entry fee. For more details, visit the Rules page.

Prize"Thank to generous donations, the 2011 storySouth Million Writers Award now has over $500 in total prize money, along with a $100 gift certificate from the great people at ThinkGeek. At the moment, this means the prize money for the award breaks down as First place: $350 plus the $100 ThinkGeek gift certificate, Runner-up: $150" - Prize Money / Feb 18

The deadline for nominations is March 15, 2011. The list of notable stories of the year will be released by April 1, 2011, with the top ten stories released by the first of May. Voting on the top stories of the year will last for one month after the top ten stories are released.

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